Heating apparatus



Jan. 6,1931;

B. R; BARDER v V 1,787,891

HEATING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 19, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J9 J7 J2 J8INVENTOR.

BY 'Z' A ORNEYI Jim 193:1; s. R; BARBER 1,787,891

gmume APPARATUS 7 Filed Aug. 19, 1926 2 Sheats-Shqet 2 INVENIOR.

AT RNEKE:

Patented Jan. 6, 1931 stars "PATENT OFFICE nxnon n. BARBER, or AKRON,onto, ASSIGNOR TO TH BIGGSYBOILERI woBxs'coM- PANY, A conronarron or01110 v HEATING ArrAnA'rUs Application filed August 19, 1926. Serial No.130,301. r

= This invention is directed to an improved apparatus for agitating andheating a fluid 'mass within a retort, and has particular reference tothe treatment of rubber or rubber p goods, as in devulcanizing,reclaiming, re-

fining, dissolving and similar processes.

Prior to this invention,- devulcanizers and the like have included. aninner main shell,

usually of cylindrical form providing a retort within which the materialto be treated is placed with an alkaline or acid solvent. Surroundingthe main shell and in spaced relation thereto is an outer shell forminga steam jacket by means of which the material within the retort may beheated, said inner and outer shells being firmly secured together bystay-bolts, rivets and the like in order to overcome collapsing andbursting pressures. The use of stay-boltsand other bracing means,besides being'costly is objectionable for other reasons, preventing theindependent expansion and contractionof the inner and outer shells, andfrequently causing leakage and other disadvantages. The disposition ofthe heating jacket outside the retort has also given rise to objections,because such arrangement results in substantial heat losses throughradiation and lack of uniform heating of the mass of :0 material withinthe retort.

These and other serious objections of the prior art are overcome by thepresent invencal type has been tion which contemplates the treatment ofthe rubber material by heat applied inter- 85 nally of the mass To thisend, the retort instead of being equipped with the usual steam jacket,is provided with an internal heating drum which is of such proportionsas to present a substantial heating surface to the material containedwithin the retort. The heating drum not only. is capable of standingextreme high pressures such as are frequently desired, but is free toexpand and contract independently with respect to.

5 the main'casing, thereby avoiding the difliculties inherent in theprior jacketedstaybolt construction above referred to. Moreover withinthemass of material all of the heat generated in the drum is caused topermeate secured to a mounting ring 16 having since the drum iscompletely inclosed' the entire mass from within, thus producing a moreeflicient and uniform heating of the stock, and also avoiding theexternal andradiation heat losses so characteristic of the priorjacketed construction.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of means forrotating the heatmg drum, and in the provision of internally heatedpaddles carried thereby to assist in the agitation of themass.

I These and other features and advantages will readily appear from thefollowing description, whentaken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein the invention is shown merely by way ofillustration.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a vertical, longitudinal sectional viewthrough one type of devulcanizer embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional plan view taken on the line 2-2 ofFigure 1;

Figure 3 is a detail sectional view through one of the paddles, saidsection being taken on the line 3-3 of Figure2;

Figure 4 is a "sectional view similar to Figure 2, but on a smallerscale, illustrating a modified form of paddle carried by the heatingdrum;

Figure 5 Figure Sis a detail, sectional view on line 6-6 of-Figure 4.-

In Figures 1 to 3, a devulcanizer of vertishown embodying a mainshellorcasing 10, preferably of cylindrical form and fitted with upperand lower head portions 11 and 12 secured'to the main body portion byriveting, welding orthe like, to form a vessel or retort with anenclosedtreating chamber 13.

Adjacent its lowerend, the casing 10is vprovided with acentral bearingmember 14 supportedby a plurality of radial arms 15 a floating lit withthe casing 10.

The upper head 11 is centrally apertured as at 17 and fitted with abearingmember 18 in. axial alinement with the bearing member 14:.Arranged within the bearing member 18 is a hollow rotatable shaft19'whose lower end extends downwardly into the reis an elevation of saidmodified .formof paddle; and

tort chamber 13 and whose upper end extends above the bearing member 18.In order to prevent leakage from the retort, the bearing member 18 isfitted with a stuffing box 20 for the reception of any suitable packingmaterial, which maybe compressed by a packing gland 21. The upper headllis further provided with a bracket 22 having a laterally extending arm23 through which the hollow shaft 19 also extends, said arm 23 forming athrust bearing for the support of a bevel gear 24 which is secured tothe shaft 19'by a set screw 25 or other suitable fastening means. Thusthe weight of the'shaft'l and its associated parts is substantiallysupported by the arms 23 supplemented by buoyancy as will be hereinafterdescribed. Below the bearing member 18, the-shaft 1,9 is fitted with athrust collar 26, and depending from the shaft 19 is a heating drumdesignated generally by the reference character 27. y

The heatingv drumr27 comprises arotary hollow cylindrical member 28which. represents a substantial heating surface for contact with thematerial 'within the retort chamber 13, and which is held againstlateral movement adjacent its lower end by'the central bearing member 14before referred to. At its upper end, the cylindrical me ber 28 isfitted with acap 29' bymeans of which it is secured to the inner'orlower end of the shaft 19 as at 30, while at its'lower end the member 28is closed by a cup-shaped the drum 27.

1 pinion37 on a shaft plug 31, theproportions' of theparts being suchthat said plug, 31 is spaced from the inner surface of the lower head 12of the main casing. By reason of such spacing and the floating fit ofthe mounting ring 16, the heating drum is capable of relativelongitudinal movement with respect to the main casing,.and thereforesaid parts arefree to expand and contract independently under thedifferent temperatures to which they are sub- .lected. 3

. In order to conduct a heating medium,such

as steam or hotwater, to theinterior of the drum 27, the upper extremityof the hollow shaft'19 is equipped with a swivel pipe connection 32 andpacking gland 33,'said swivel connection 32 being in communication withthe central bore '34 of shaft19, and'being supplied with the heatingmedium'through' an inlet pipe 35 from any suitable source of supply. .Anexhaust pipe36 is employed to insaid pipe 36being of a. smaller diameterthan the interior of the swivel connection 32 and "bore 34, andextending upwardly through sald parts from a point near the bottom ofMeshing with the bevel gear 24 is a bevel 38," which has a hearing at39v in the bracket 22; and further provided with a pulley 40-01 the likefor the applica tion of power. Thus the gears 37 and 24 may be operatedto rotate the drum 27.

' It is desirable to agitate the material within the retort chamber,while it is being treated, and to this end the drum 27 carries aplurality of paddles extending radially therefrom toward the cylindricalwall of the main casing 10. The paddles may be conveniently formed fromlengths of pipe 42 which extendldiametrically through the cylindricalmember 28', three of such pipes being shown in the drawing, and eachhaving its oppositefends closed by suitable caps 43. Intermediate oftheir ends,*the pipes 42 are formed with apertures 44 whereby theheating fluid from within the drum 27 may also becirculated through saidpipes. The agitation of the mass of material in the retort may be further facilitated by the application of relatively flat plates 45 whichmay be secured to the pipes by means of U bolts 46 and clamp ing nuts47, as best shown in Figures 2 and 3. The plates 45 are preferablydisposed at. an angle at the front side of the pipes 42 with respect totheir direction of rotation, and in this manner they will have achurning and cutting tendency in their operation. The agitation of themass may be further insured by the use of propeller blades 48' securedto the plug 31 at the lower end of the drum 27, said blades'tending toforce the material upwardly as they are rotated.

The main casing 10 may be mounted on any suitable foundation by 'meansof supporting brackets 49, and access may be had to the interior of the.treating chamber 13 through a manhole 50, normally closed by a closureplate 51, stud 52, and yoke 53. After the process has been completed,the material from thetreating chamber 13 may be removed through a drainpipe 54 in the lower headportion 12. i

In using the above described apparatus for carrying outmy improvedprocess, the waste material to be treated is inserted in the chamber 13with a suitable alkaline or acid solvent, as is well known to thoseskilled in the art; The material ispreferably gu'ound or cut intorelatively small pieces order thatit may be more uniformly acted upon bythe solvent. The heating fluid, preferably steam, is then admitted tothe drum 27 through the'inlet pipe 35 and thereafter the drum27 isrotated by the'application of {)OWGX tothe pulley 40, such power beingtransmitted by the gears 37 and 24 to the hollow shaft 19'. As the drum27 and its attached agitators 42 and 45 are thus rotated withinthe massof material, said material is thoroughly churned and agitated, with theresult that it becomes uniformly heated throughout its entire body,greatly facilitating the devulcanization of the rubber. Both the drum27' and I the pipes 42 provide a closed circulating system for theheating thermore, that the heating drum 27 is free to expandlongitudinally independently of the main casing 10. After thematerialhas been so treated for the proper length of time, the rotationof the drum and paddles may be stopped and the resultant mixturewithdrawn from the chamber 13 through the I drain pipe 54, for furthertreatment in the signature hereto.

usual manner to separate the reclaimed rubber.

It has been found that the application of heat to the materialinternally results in a more uniform heating and produces a higherquality of reclaimed rubber, and this fea ture is additionallyadvantageous in that it reduces heat losses by radiation to a minimum.Furthermore, the heating drum 27, being of considerably smaller diameterthan the prior art heating jackets, is capable of withstanding increasedinternal pressures without necessitating an undue thickness of metal andwithout requiring stay-bolts or other bracing means for reinforcement.Thus when steam is used as the heating medium, the higher pressureresults in high er temperatures, reducing the time necessary forcompletion of the process as compared with the prior art apparatus ofthe jacketed type.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

A devulcanizing apparatus including in combination, a container for thematerial to be treated, a steam-tight, hollow, heating drum havingradial hollow arms communicating therewith and forming a heatcirculating element adapted to heat to devulcanizing temperature theentire mass of material within the container, said drum being rotatablysuspended from the top of the easing and having a clearance from thebottom thereof, blades angularly' arranged on said hollow arms, wherebythe mass of material will be churned and crushed and heated thruout todevulcanizing temperature, means for rotating said drum, an outlet pipearranged in the drum for the water of condensation, and an outlet forthe treated material.

In testimony whereof, I have afiixed my BYRON R. BARDER.

